Ashley Garcia Christmas Special Offers a Chance for Meaningful Goodbyes
If you were hoping the Christmas special, Ashley Garcia: Genius In Love: The Meaning Of Christmas Togetherness Funtime, was going to provide some answers to all the questions you had after that major Season 2 cliffhanger, I’ve got some bad news for you: it doesn’t.
In fact, for a whopper of a name like Ashley Garcia: Genius In Love: The Meaning Of Christmas Togetherness Funtime, there’s very little that happens at all, but there is a satisfying amount of warm and fuzzy Christmas cheer.
The episode is a standalone special that brings absolutely none of the show’s actual plot into the story, besides the basic character dynamics that explain what makes this group of people friends in the first place.
It’s peculiar and unusual to watch a Christmas special for a show that’s already been canceled, especially when it doesn’t wrap up any of the loose ends left hanging from the series finale. However, as reported by Deadline, the episode was never meant to be anything other than a standalone Christmas special.
Looks like those ends will continue to be left loose and untied.
Instead, we get a Gen-Z take on a classic holiday trope: people not appreciating the meaning of Christmas.
While it’s somewhat hard to believe a heart as big as Ashley’s would forget the importance of loved ones during the holidays, the show at least is clever enough to keep her distractions in character, with her focus being tied to an application that would take her on a shuttle to Mars.
(We feel this is a good time to scream into the void about how infuriating it is for Netflix to cancel a show about a successful Latina woman in STEM. What is wrong with you, Netflix?! Please get it together!)
Our favorite genius ends up doing something ironically clumsy — bumping her head and knocking herself unconscious. That’s much more of a Tad move, but for the sake of the narrative, we’ll buy it.
That bump ends up taking her seven years into the future, where she faces a grim reality: despite all their brilliant successes, she and her friends have completely lost touch with one another.
The reason? Because they never got off their computers long enough all those years ago to come together and make a gingerbread house, of course!
It’s all very sappy and sweet — exactly what you would expect from a Christmas special (it even includes a Jewish character! Yay, inclusivity!) — and would absolutely be gratifying if not for the gaping plot holes we now know will never find resolution in a new season.
One of the main conflicts is even between Tad (Conor Husting) and Stick (Reed Horstmann), who apparently have learned to hate each other over the seven-year time skip.
Their friction is cause for some of the episode’s funniest moments, but when their reasons for fighting are finally revealed, you’re let down to find out it has nothing to do with their mutual affection for Ashley.
It’s still entertaining to see how the four kids turn out in the future, and it’s gratifying that all four characters are wildly successful.
The juxtaposition between future Brooke (Bella Podaras) and Ashley — one who has found success in beauty influencing, the other in science — is especially applauded. Neither career path is looked down upon, and both women are celebrated for their hard work and achievements.
Of course, everything ends up for the best, and Ashley finds a way to bring her friends back together in both the future and present. The episode ends with a Christmas carol sing-along, chock full of surprisingly impressive harmonies and all the cozy Christmas vibes you could possibly ask for.
We suppose if we have to say goodbye to Ashley Garcia: Genius In Love, we’re happy the last thing we see is everyone together.
While we’re heartbroken the show has come to a premature end, we have no doubt all of the cast will continue on to do incredible, outstanding things. We’ll be watching.
Happy Holidays, Ashley Garcia: Genius In Love fans! It’s been a fun two seasons of watching a genius in love.
What did you think of the Christmas special? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Ashley Garcia: Genius In Love airs on Netflix.
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Kat Pettibone
Kat Pettibone is an aspiring TV writer, artist, and poet. As a Pacey Witter Fan Club lifer who never missed a TGIF, she has dreams of becoming your generations small screen Nora Ephron. She's also an avid lover of coffee, dogs and all things spooky.
One thought on “Ashley Garcia Christmas Special Offers a Chance for Meaningful Goodbyes”
I just found out they canceled it!!! NOOOOOO! It was quirky, fun, and meaningful!
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